WHAT'S A FOCUSING SESSION LIKE?
In short, during a Focusing session, we sit face-to-face. You tell me a little about the issues you are struggling with at the moment. We pick the problem that seems most essential. You close your eyes, and I verbally guide you into a very relaxed state. When you are relaxed, we ask your body to give us information about your struggle. I guide you in dialog with your body in a precise way that allows you to embody a transformative state which will simultaneously reveal the information you seek. A sense of resolution will usually indicate that it is time to end the session.
WHAT TOPICS CAN I WORK WITH?
There is no topic that Focusing cannot address. Any discomfort that you are experiencing in life can be approached in this body-centered way. For example, you may be struggling to assert yourself in a given situation. You may have accumulated sadness. You may be stuck in a repeating cycle. You may have an important decision to make. You may have physical pain. It can all be addressed with Focusing. Instead of endlessly making lists of pros and cons, or looking for a source of blame, trying to find the reason for a problem, we can query the body directly about any given displeasure.
YOU DON'T NEED TO TELL ME YOUR PROBLEM
One of the beautiful things about Focusing is that I don't even need to know the topic. I can lead you into the Focusing mental state and we can work directly with bodily sensations about a topic that you keep to yourself. It's a beautiful method for working with confidential problems.
WE SLOW DOWN
To enter the Focusing mental state, we must first quiet the mind. I will guide you through a process called "Leading In", where I invite you to close your eyes and pay attention to the sensations in various parts of the body. I will help you slow down and not feel anxious about moving slowly. The body gives us information at a much different pace than the mind and we need to slow down to be able to access it.
WE FIND THE "FELT SENSE"
If I know your topic, once you are in this deep state of relaxation, we will ask the body to give us a sensation around this topic. Amazingly, at a certain point, you'll find that you feel a vague "something", usually in the chest or in the belly, but not necessarily there. I'll help you stay with that sensation by repeating your description of it. Slowly, I'll guide you to be in the right relationship to that vague sensation. I'll ask you to be patient with it, or to be gentle with it. My recommendations will depend on what shows up.
WE DISCOVER WHAT'S INSIDE YOU!
Remarkably, when we enter into a safe, welcoming, relationship with what is inside of us, it begins to transform. It will change shape, change color, move around, express emotions, or feel physically different. At this point, if we ask it in the right way, more often than not, it will reveal it's purpose. It may do this using a symbol, an emotion, a scene, like a movie, or directly with words which you will be able to understand. Everybody is different and the landscapes inside us are truly fascinating.
RESOLUTION
Once the felt sense starts to communicate, we will find that it will reach a point when it feels 'done' for the moment. There will have been some small or large catharsis and we will reach a natural moment to end the session. I'll bring you back into an awareness of regular life. You may feel a little groggy. We'll check in and chat for a moment about your experience and then you'll go out and approach life just a little differently.
HOW PEOPLE FEEL AFTERWARDS
Sometimes people do a Focusing session and it's immediately transformative in a very tangible way. I've had clients with 15 years of stomach pain simply disappear after one session. (That's when I got hooked as a practitioner). A woman who could not raise her arm due to severe pain was able to do so after one session.
Sometimes, the results are a little less obvious. A client who was struggling to change a relationship with her daughter had just enough room to end a lifelong knee-jerk reaction and change the course of their relationship. A woman with debilitating depression, who was breaking down physically due to caretaking ageing parents was able to honour herself and pull out of that pattern of self-anhialation. An artist who was struggling with feelings of insecurity and low self-worth was able to turn towards himself for validation, freeing up energy that was previously tied up in self-doubt to create a successful show. A man struggling with anger stopped taking situations as a personal affront and found the way to approach life with more acceptance. The examples are truly endless.
SHEDULE A SESSION
If you are interested in discovering what lies within you and changing some long-standing patterns, please schedule a session.
WHAT TOPICS CAN I WORK WITH?
There is no topic that Focusing cannot address. Any discomfort that you are experiencing in life can be approached in this body-centered way. For example, you may be struggling to assert yourself in a given situation. You may have accumulated sadness. You may be stuck in a repeating cycle. You may have an important decision to make. You may have physical pain. It can all be addressed with Focusing. Instead of endlessly making lists of pros and cons, or looking for a source of blame, trying to find the reason for a problem, we can query the body directly about any given displeasure.
YOU DON'T NEED TO TELL ME YOUR PROBLEM
One of the beautiful things about Focusing is that I don't even need to know the topic. I can lead you into the Focusing mental state and we can work directly with bodily sensations about a topic that you keep to yourself. It's a beautiful method for working with confidential problems.
WE SLOW DOWN
To enter the Focusing mental state, we must first quiet the mind. I will guide you through a process called "Leading In", where I invite you to close your eyes and pay attention to the sensations in various parts of the body. I will help you slow down and not feel anxious about moving slowly. The body gives us information at a much different pace than the mind and we need to slow down to be able to access it.
WE FIND THE "FELT SENSE"
If I know your topic, once you are in this deep state of relaxation, we will ask the body to give us a sensation around this topic. Amazingly, at a certain point, you'll find that you feel a vague "something", usually in the chest or in the belly, but not necessarily there. I'll help you stay with that sensation by repeating your description of it. Slowly, I'll guide you to be in the right relationship to that vague sensation. I'll ask you to be patient with it, or to be gentle with it. My recommendations will depend on what shows up.
WE DISCOVER WHAT'S INSIDE YOU!
Remarkably, when we enter into a safe, welcoming, relationship with what is inside of us, it begins to transform. It will change shape, change color, move around, express emotions, or feel physically different. At this point, if we ask it in the right way, more often than not, it will reveal it's purpose. It may do this using a symbol, an emotion, a scene, like a movie, or directly with words which you will be able to understand. Everybody is different and the landscapes inside us are truly fascinating.
RESOLUTION
Once the felt sense starts to communicate, we will find that it will reach a point when it feels 'done' for the moment. There will have been some small or large catharsis and we will reach a natural moment to end the session. I'll bring you back into an awareness of regular life. You may feel a little groggy. We'll check in and chat for a moment about your experience and then you'll go out and approach life just a little differently.
HOW PEOPLE FEEL AFTERWARDS
Sometimes people do a Focusing session and it's immediately transformative in a very tangible way. I've had clients with 15 years of stomach pain simply disappear after one session. (That's when I got hooked as a practitioner). A woman who could not raise her arm due to severe pain was able to do so after one session.
Sometimes, the results are a little less obvious. A client who was struggling to change a relationship with her daughter had just enough room to end a lifelong knee-jerk reaction and change the course of their relationship. A woman with debilitating depression, who was breaking down physically due to caretaking ageing parents was able to honour herself and pull out of that pattern of self-anhialation. An artist who was struggling with feelings of insecurity and low self-worth was able to turn towards himself for validation, freeing up energy that was previously tied up in self-doubt to create a successful show. A man struggling with anger stopped taking situations as a personal affront and found the way to approach life with more acceptance. The examples are truly endless.
SHEDULE A SESSION
If you are interested in discovering what lies within you and changing some long-standing patterns, please schedule a session.